Charles Bradlaugh

Charles Bradlaugh
Member of Parliament for Northampton
In office 1880–1891
Preceded by	Charles George Merewether
Succeeded by	Sir Moses Philip Manfield
Personal details
Born	(1833-09-26)26 September 1833 Hoxton, England, UK
Died	30 January 1891(1891-01-30) (aged 57) London, England, UK
Political party	Liberal
Known for	Founding the NSS (National Secular Society)

Charles Bradlaugh (/ˈbrædlɔː/; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866,^[1][2] 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851.

In 1880, Bradlaugh was elected as the Liberal MP for Northampton. His attempt to affirm as an atheist ultimately led to his temporary imprisonment, fines for voting in the House of Commons illegally, and a number of by-elections at which Bradlaugh regained his seat on each occasion. He was finally allowed to take an oath in 1886. Eventually, a parliamentary bill which he proposed became law in 1888, which allowed members of both Houses of Parliament to affirm, if they so wished, when being sworn in. The new law resolved the issue for witnesses in civil and criminal court cases.